Scotty McCreery Doubling on Songwriting, Narration on 'Rise and Fall': 'We Want to Make Country Music'

Singer-songwriter Scotty McCreery co-wrote nearly every song on his fifth studio album, Rise and fall (out May 10 on Triple Tigers), but his steady hand throughout the writing process didn't come from the typical, organized writing sessions on Nashville's Music Row.

The North Carolina native brought some of his closest songwriting collaborators, including Brent Anderson, Monty Criswell, Derek George and writer-producer Frank Rogers, to a writing retreat about 500 miles from Music City, his home McCreery out of Raleigh.

“It's heaven on earth,” McCreery said Advertising sign of the writing retreat. “It moves at a slower pace. It puts your mind in a creatively different space than a scheduled 11:00 recording. It was just a hang out and see what happens. These are some of my favorite songs we've ever written.”

This effortless time period led to hours of teasing out song ideas, melodies and refined lyrics – resulting in many of the album's songs such as 'Fall of Summer' and the radio single 'Cab in a Solo', which reached No.2 Billboard Country Airplay Chart. A subsequent Nashville-based mini-retreat with many of the same writers, plus Jeremy Bussey and Bobby Hamrick, produced more of the album's songs, including “Lonely” and “Little More Gone.”

“For me, the personal connection to a song makes me believe it and feel it more,” says McCreery. “It makes it feel like my album, as opposed to a collection of songs.”

McCreery's commitment to quality songs was key to his five Country Airplay No. steps (and refined vocal stylings) of genre forefathers like Randy Travis and Keith Whitley on songs like 2018's nostalgic hit “Five More Minutes” or small-town ode “Water Tower Town.”

This mission is emanating throughout Rise and fall. McCreery, 30, grew up immersed in the sounds of '80s and '90s country, which also happens to be experiencing a resurgence in the genre's modern era. Light fare like “Stuck Behind a Tractor” and “And Countin'” are mixed with convulsive touches like “Lonely,” bluegrass album closer “Porch” and the faith-filled “Red Letter Blueprint.”

“It's no secret why [the album] it sounds like that, but we weren't chasing a specific sound,” says McCreery, who is managed by Triple 8 Management's Scott Stem. His vision for the album was simpler: “We wanted to make country music. I said, “Let's make an album that makes me feel good.”

Though another album track, the raucous “Can't Pass the Bar,” doesn't share the seemingly essential song title of John Michael Montgomery's “Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)” or his “Ain't Goin' Garth Brooks. ' Down ('Til The Sun Comes Up),' features a similar galloping beat that helped make these songs classic hits — and a challenge for any singer.

“I was thinking as we were writing it, 'Holy cow, this is going to be hard,'” McCreery says, “but I knew I wanted to write a song like that, because I grew up listening to those kinds of songs. The song was fast, so our minds were going a mile a minute, but it was a fun piece of writing. Once I tried to sing the demo, I was like, “Oh boy, this is going to be something to sing.”

“No Country for Old Men” longs for the classic sounds of yesteryear and features McCreery sinking lower than ever on his deep bass while name-checking Conway Twitty's “Tight Fittin' Jeans,” Ernest's “Walking the Floor” Tubb,” and Merle Haggard's “Swinging Doors.” He wrote it during the retreat with Anderson, George, Rogers and Criswell.

“We had a long day of writing, a couple of cold beers and sat around the kitchen table with our guitars and got to work,” says McCreery. “Everyone loved the idea and wanted to be a part of it. It was fun bringing up these names and weaving in song titles and influences. I wish there was a camera filming us while we were writing the song. We were laughing and fooling around and yelling at the way it came together — it was a fun way to write a song.”

Some of McCreery's biggest hits have been drawn directly from his own history, such as “Five More Minutes”, inspired by the death of his grandfather, and “This Is It”, which highlights his love story with his wife Gabi. That arc continues on his new album, with the cover (the shot was taken at the same location in the North Carolina mountains where McCreery proposed to Gabi) as well as “Love Like This,” written after the couple welcomed their son of Avery in October. 2022.

“The moment Avery was born, I felt a different kind of love,” says McCreary. “Seeing your child for the first time, I had never felt this feeling before. If you go back and look at the caption of the Instagram post I did after Avery was born, that was the caption — “I've never known love like this.” That's my dad's song to Avery, and every time I hear it, it makes me choke up a little bit.”

“Hey Rose,” the album's lone non-McCreery song, had held it for nearly 10 years. He was taken with the song's redemptive love story and packed it away, hoping for the right moment to record it.

“We were making a record when he was introduced to me [in 2015], but I didn't feel like it fit on this album,” says McCreery. “When I was recording [Rise and Fall], we had an hour left in the studio and we got this song out. The whole band, everybody in the studio, was like, 'This should make the record.' I kind of begged the label to let me have an extra song and they graciously agreed.”

Like the album's title, McCreery has seen his share of career highs and lows. His debut album, 2011 Clear as dayspent six weeks at the top Advertising signTop Country Albums chart and debut country single 'I Love You This Big' became a top 15 Country Airplay hit after being crowned the winner of its 10th season American Idol. His career then took a hiatus and he parted ways with Universal Music Group Nashville before signing with Triple Tigers in 2017. The WME client has painstakingly rebuilt his status as a hitmaker through his music and multiple headlining tours of.

In late April, two of McCreery's heroes, Travis and Josh Turner, welcomed him as the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry – with the induction ceremony representing three generations of famous singers who have remained committed to preserving and promoting traditional sounds of country music. Joining the lineage of more than 200 artists who have been part of the esteemed Opry family is a nod to keeping McCreery focused on what he does best – writing (and performing) country music.

“I like to write songs. I love sitting down with a blank sheet of paper and a few hours later, you have a piece of art — it's a sense of accomplishment when you write something you're proud of,” says McCreery.